The care of your child is paramount and I always have plans and risk assessments in place to ensure that they remain with me and are safe.
However, on rare occasions children can become ‘lost’ in busy places and therefore as a responsible childminder I have written a procedure that will be followed in the unlikely event of this happening.
- I will immediately raise the alarm to all around me that I have lost a child and enlist the help of everyone to look for them
- If it is a secure area such as a shopping centre, I will quickly alert the security staff so they can seal off exits and monitor the situation on any CCTV
- I will provide everyone involved in the search with a description of the child.
- I will reassure the other children with me, as they may be distressed
- I will then alert the police and provide a full description
- I will then alert the parents of the situation
- I will inform Ofsted
I take precautions to avoid situations like this happening by implementing the following measures:
- Ensuring the children hold my hand or the pushchair whilst we are out
- Avoid going to places that are overcrowded
- On outings the children wear hi vis jackets with our contact details on
- I teach the children about the dangers of wandering off and of talking to strangers
Policy created- 14.1.18
Reviewed date- 1.1.2022